MadCatz Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit, $90 in Jan.
If staring longingly at your pal's HDMI connection has you feeling like less of a man, then consider MadCatz's HDMI Conversion Kit, available in January for the low, low price of $89.99. The device supports resolutions up to 1080p, includes an optical audio port, and comes with both HDMI and optical audio cables. Isn't that worth it for a strong, thick digital video signal?
[Via Engadget]
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(Page 1) Reader Comments
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I haven't experienced any lag yet. Their buttons do tend to jam after 140 or so hours of play.
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Useless crap!
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HDMI, therefore, shouldn't cause any loss in signal while it's traveling from place to place. There's at least one reason to use it.
As for the topic at hand, I am happy with my plain old component cable thanks. Plus, I am in danger of failing into the group whose 360s are eventually going to break, at which point I will get a swanky HDMI ready one anyaways.
Sorry MadCatz, as cool as having a "z" at the end of your name makes you, I don't need this particular piece of junk.
I currently have the 360 connected via the VGA cable, but that means that I'm really running at 1024x768 -- again, my TV will not accept a 1080p signal over anything besides HDMI and 1024x768 was the highest resolution that it will accept over VGA.
I would use the component cables, except that I've only got two inputs for component on the TV, and both the Wii and PS2 are taking them up.
It's a shame that this is $90 -- if it was less, I would stop secretly wishing for my 360 to fail and buy this instead.
This device offers no benefit in picture quality, since the source was an analog signal. Analog signals must be interpreted by a a-to-d converter to display on modern displays (anything not a tube tv). This is because the multiplexer to set the matrix of pixels on your flat panel needs a digital signal. So, what mad cats is selling you is a $90 a-to-d. Keep in mind that this is already built into your tv since your panel needs a digital signal to display an image.
In other words, this is a complete waste of money. It will most likely be bought by the same people that buy HDMI cables from best buy for $120, when you can get the exact same thing from amazon for $15. General consumers are just gullible, and madcatz is really good at taking advantage of that. So is monster cable.
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The 360 can upconvert dvds using vga or hdmi.
No need for the HD-DVD drive.
Seriously, a 20quid DVD player at your local supermarket would be a better option.
I would like to know, does the 360 think this is the VGA cable, or the Component cable. If it thinks it is VGA you are fine, because you can get 1080p from it, but if it thinks it is a component you are locked to just 1080i for HD-DVD or EDTV for DVD without the HD-DVD add-on. Which is poor, as my TV does 1080p over component and the only problem is the 360 wont give it to me.
Cool item, and with fewer and fewer componant inputs on the newer TVs, there's a group of consumers that probably want this. I only question the price a little - at $90, you really gotta want it or need it.
I don't need HDMI yet, but I will when I replace my componant-only HDTV. Considering that the Arcade model has HDMI, and might (yes, I said "might") offer the peace of mind that you're getting with a more recently manufactured 360, I would probably just throw down the extra $ to go that route when I get a new TV or if my 360 dies again.
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I'm talking about how a tv from 3 years ago might have had more component inputs than they do now, as HDMI becomes the new standard. I know it's a lot to grasp, but don't worry: I'll keep reminding you over the next year or two as it happens.
And that's what this madcatz cable does: it's similar to the MS one, only more expensive.
BTW, I think that MS is actually ripping us off with this stupid limit.
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Secondly, HDMI carries audio too, so not everyine needs optical audio too.
Third, the problem is that the optical out is on "standard" cable normally, and that cable won't fit at the same time as a hdmi-connector. It's nothing that MS has done to get more money. You can actually just remove the casing from the original connector to get it to fit at the same time: http://www.chadledford.com/?p=50
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Please look up interlacing. I assure you that 1080i has a resolution of 1920x1080 on screen at any given time. The i refers to how the lines are updated.
An interlaced signal only shows half the number of line in any given frame as the advertised resolution. Your 480i TV is actually only capable of displaying 240 lines at a time. They get away with 1080 because they take a 1080 source, and display the odd numbered lines in one frame, and then the even numbered lines the next. You TV never shows more than 540 lines in a frame, but because your eye and brain aren't fast enough, it thinks its seeing the whole 1080 image.
Believe me, it matters. I had my PC running a 1080i to my old crt HDTV over component. You could not read the text on the screen due to the flicker caused by the interlacing process.
The flicker is less noticeable with pictures, but its still present.
An analogous situation would be if you have an 800x600 LCD, but it was able to accept 1280x960 input. Sure, the source is 1280x960, but what you're going to see op screen isn't nearly that high a quality.
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again, unless you need to plug into a digital-only Apple Cinema Display or other niche case, the 360 does full 1080p for games through component fine out the gate.
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So if I ever take my 360 somewhere where there isn't an internet connection (like, my parents house over Christmas) then I can't play any of the live games.
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Probably wont be getting this, since if it just takes the component/vga signal and converts it + audio to HDMI it wont really be better than my current VGA connection....
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HDMI vs. YPbPr is not CRAZY noticeable.
With that said, I do hope that my replacement 360 (RROD) does have HDMI. Not because the difference is noticeable, but because my home theater is better suited for HDMI. BUT, if your vagina is sore from the difference between HDMI and YPbPr, I do see your case, and I understand that sandy vaginas are a bitch.
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We had two 360s go down in our house, less than two weeks apart (failures 5 & 6 btw), just last month. We got back replacement units that were date stamped from early 2006 and they do not have HDMI. They are simply recycling older units. You will not be getting a new HDMI enabled replacement unit from Microsoft if (when) your older 360 dies any time soon.
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Also in the "something I haven't seen before" catagory: my friend's 360 just went down, and when he got it back, it was the same unit (same serial number), repaired. Everyone else I know who bothered to check the serial number before they sent it back for repair got a different refurbished one back.
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If so, wouldn't that indicate that the AV port should be capable of outputting the digital HDMI signal?
And if THAT were the case, wouldn't that mean that this device doesn't convert anything at all?
The other telling indicator would be if this device supports HDCP for the 360 HD-DVD drive. If so, then it really is a pure digital signal from start to finish.
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